title: Cerebral gray matter volumes and low-frequency fluctuation of BOLD signals in cocaine dependence: duration of use and gender difference.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Magnetic resonance imaging has provided a wealth of information on altered brain activations and structures in individuals addicted to cocaine. However, few studies have considered the influence of age and alcohol use on these changes.
  
  
  METHODS
  We examined gray matter volume with voxel based morphometry (VBM) and low frequency fluctuation (LFF) of BOLD signals as a measure of cerebral activity of 84 cocaine dependent (CD) and 86 healthy control (HC) subjects. We performed a covariance analysis to account for the effects of age and years of alcohol use.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Compared to HC, CD individuals showed decreased gray matter (GM) volumes in frontal and temporal cortices, middle/posterior cingulate cortex, and the cerebellum, at p<0.05, corrected for multiple comparisons. The GM volume of the bilateral superior frontal gyri (SFG) and cingulate cortices were negatively correlated with years of cocaine use, with women showing a steeper loss in the right SFG in association with duration of use. In contrast, the right ventral putamen showed increased GM volume in CD as compared to HC individuals. Compared to HC, CD individuals showed increased fractional amplitude of LFF (fALFF) in the thalamus, with no significant overlap with regions showing GM volume loss.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggested that chronic cocaine use is associated with distinct changes in cerebral structure and activity that can be captured by GM volume and fALFF of BOLD signals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Science and Technology, Federal University of Sao Paulo, Sao Jose dos Campos, SP 12231, Brazil.
authors.forename: Jaime S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Ide
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Sien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Rajita
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sinha
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA.
authors.forename: Carolyn M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Mazure
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neurobiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA. Electronic address: chiang-shan.li@yale.edu.
authors.forename: Chiang-Shan R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology*; D019970:Cocaine-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D017352:Echo-Planar Imaging / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cerebral morphometry; Gender difference; Low-frequency fluctuation; Prefrontal; Stimulant; Thalamus